The Perfect Ending
by bullfrog005
Summary: Author Lizzie McGuire needs some inspiration for her new book. What happens when she meets David Gordon and realizes that she might be in for more than just research...au but give chance. rr please
1. Chapter One

A/N: This is my first fan-fiction story, although I've been writing original stuff for a while. Anyway, I've been reading stories LM for a while, and I finally decided to take a shot at it when I came up with what I think is a good idea for a story. It's a little AU, but I hope you like it.

I do not own Lizzie McGuire or the characters associated with the show.

A summary: Best-selling author, Lizzie McGuire, penname Elizabeth Brooks, has a deadline to meet, but no story. She's not sure how she's going to follow her hit, "The DC Queen," but needs an idea ASAP. With her lack of ideas, she unwillingly decides to write a book based on her experiences with dating a guy she "picked up" somewhere. Yes. Does handsome David Gordon turn out to be the answer to her next book? What about her future?

The Perfect Ending

Chapter One

Twenty-nine year old Lizzie McGuire sat in her home office, staring at the practically blank document on her computer. She knew it was a bad idea to tell her publisher that she would have her next novel ready in six months. A month had passed, and every idea that came to her immediately disappeared, as she couldn't think of how to make it work. She knew that the chances that her next book would be as good as "The DC Queen" were not good, because it was the Curse of the Second Novel.

The reason "The DC Queen" was so easy to write was because it was a novel based on her life at the time. When she was twenty-six, she was addicted to Diet Coke, a male stripper who was an aspiring doctor was chasing after her. They ended up dating each other for four months before he broke it off because she couldn't get over her addiction to Diet Coke, and he believed it was unhealthy. After getting over the break-up, Lizzie decided that this whole situation was the perfect set-up to her first novel. With the aspiring doctor's permission, she started writing and two years, eight drafts, and 2,251 Diet Cokes later, her first book was released. Word got around quickly and it wasn't too long before she was climbing the best-selling charts and signed a deal with a publisher.

Since then, Lizzie gave up Diet Coke, as well as all soft drinks and caffeine in general, and up until recently, was too busy with book tours and interviews to even think about her next book. Too bad her agent, Max Miller, as well as her publisher weren't sympathetic to her problem. A month earlier, her publisher asked her when her next book was going to be ready. When she asked Max what to tell them, he reprimanded her for being unfocused and told her that it would be in her best interest if she acted fast and assured the publishing company that she would have a draft for them in six months.

At the time, the time limit didn't seem so bad. She'd written a draft for "The DC Queen" in three months. However, every time she sat down to focus, her mind went blank. The reason "The DC Queen" was so easy to write was because it was sort of based on her life. She made up the ending, of course, because in real life, the attractive stripper-doctor never called her back and convinced her to marry him, but otherwise there would be no good ending. No one would be interested in a romance-themed book where the main characters didn't end up happily ever after.

So, there she sat, contemplating. She hadn't had time to date anyone since then and she found herself having difficulty trusting a lot of the ideas she had because she wasn't sure she could end them believably. All she knew was that this book was going to be about Heather's wild friend, Jane, and her stubborn quest for love. Heather was the main character in "The DC Queen" and Jane was the friend who thought the stripper, Hunter James, was an arrogant, misogynistic SOB until she classically came to terms that Heather loved Hunter and gave the couple her blessing in the end, even though she still thought Hunter should have been more understanding about her addiction.

It wasn't a sequel. Rather, it was a new story with crossover characters. Lizzie got the idea from her best friend, Miranda, who supported her one hundred percent as a writer and was the best friend Lizzie could ever ask for in a million years.

After an hour of just sitting there, Lizzie decided that the book would just have to wait another day, because she needed a break, and had already agreed with Miranda and some other friends that she would have a girls' night out.

After taking a shower and getting ready for the evening, Lizzie headed for TGI Friday's to meet for dinner with Miranda and two other friends, Ashley and Kate.

"So," Miranda asked, as Lizzie sat down, "have you figured out who Jane is going to fall in love with yet? Please be the sheriff."

"No way," Ashley said, "It's the chef, right?"

Lizzie sighed, "I don't know. I need to figure that out quickly, though, because otherwise I don't have a story."

"Well," Kate said, "Well, I told you I thought you should have made it about Lauren in the first place because she was so sweet and innocent and you could make anyone fall in love with her and it would be believable…"

"We've been through this before, Kate. Even though they broke up, anyone could tell that Lauren and Kevin were going to end up together."

"There you go, then. Write about them getting back together."

Lizzie shook her head, "No…it's not interesting enough. Everything would be too repetitive. This needs to be about her other best friend, Jane."

"Well, the reason you wrote so easily about Heather was because Heather was based on you, right?" Miranda asked.

"Yeah," Lizzie said, grabbing a piece of cheese bread from the middle of the table, "So?"

"Lizzie, I don't know why I didn't think about this before," Miranda said, excitedly.

"What?" a confused Lizzie asked.

"Miranda, you're a genius!" Ashley exclaimed.

"What?" Lizzie repeated.

"You know, that's just crazy enough that it might work!" Kate said, apparently in on what Miranda and Ashley were talking about.

"You guys…" Lizzie whined, "This isn't fair. What are you trying to say?"

Miranda turned her attention to her friend, "Lizzie, don't you get it? In order to write about Jane, you have to be one with Jane. You have to understand her psyche and how she does things."

"So, what are you suggesting?"

"Simple," Miranda shrugged, "After dinner, I'm taking you to a bar. You're going to pick up a guy."

"Ooh!" Kate said, obviously liking the idea, "Can I come with? I've always wanted to see how these things are done."

"Are you crazy?" Lizzie asked, panicked, "I can't just waltz into a bar and pick up some random guy."

"You're right," Miranda frowned, "Jane is too classy to just walk out with a guy at a bar."

"Of course she is," Lizzie said, taking a sip if her water.

Miranda's face brightened again, "Unless she does it to prove a point!"

"What?"

"Well, Jane believes that there should be gender equality in dating, right?"

Lizzie nodded.

"That means that she thinks that it should be sociably acceptable for a woman to ask a guy out, open her door, pay for her meal, and take more initiative. This means that although Jane wouldn't normally pick up a guy at a bar, she wouldn't see anything wrong with it if it happened to other people. In the book, have Jane determined to prove a point that women can pick up all the guys they want to, but the relationship is doomed because a male cannot handle a woman who takes charge like that because its not in their blood. Jane will start dating this guy and insist on wearing the shoes in the relationship and ultimately find out that not all guys are duds like her ex, Billy. Does that make sense."

"Of course it does," Ashley said, "I think its perfect. Count me in for the bar."

"You guys," Lizzie said, "I'm dying to say no to this idea; however, because I'm desperate, I'll try anything, even if it means pretending to be Jane for tonight."

"Oh, it's not just for tonight," Miranda said, "When you get a guy you like, ask him out and go out with him. Go out with him until you want to break up with him."

"What?" Lizzie said, "No, I am not dating anyone. Not for pleasure and certainly not for business. That is so misleading."

"Oh, come on," Miranda urged, "You said you were desperate and you need this for the experience. You could go out on a date with him once and have enough information to write a book about him. It's harmless."

Lizzie sighed, considering her options. She felt wrong for considering them, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to get into Jane's head a little bit, "Fine, I'm in," Lizzie finally said, "I'm not saying I'll use the idea, but I'm a little rusty in my dating experience anyway, so it will be of some benefit to me, anyway."

"Great!" Miranda said, and she started talking a mile a minute about other possibilities for Jane and Ashley and Kate also randomly threw in their own ideas as well. By the time dinner was up, Lizzie felt a little more hopeful about this book.

It didn't surprise her, though. The character of Jane was loosely based on Miranda, after all.

After dinner, they headed for Lucky's, the local bar, where Operation: Pick Up would ensue.

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A/N: I know, it might not be the best set-up, but what do you think? Is it something I should continue? Let me know!


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Thank you to the people who read the first chapter and to the three that reviewed. It meant a lot to me and I hope that you like this story. I didn't mean for it to take so long to get the next chapter out, but you know how life is…

Chapter Two

27 YO woman seeking male to date. Interested in movies, sports, and reading. Give me a call. 555-2131.

That's what the ad read when thirty year old David Gordon saw it in the local paper. Now, he was only waiting for her to arrive. She was already fifteen minutes late. He sat at the bar at Lucky's waiting.

It wasn't as if David was desperate. Nope, he was far from desperation. He was only there because he needed a date for his ex-girlfriend's wedding in two weeks.

So maybe he was a little desperate.

He would have been nervous, but he'd lost his nerves five minutes ago, when it dawned on him that the woman was probably not going to show up. It wasn't as if he was completely comfortable with the idea in the first place, but still…to be stood up by people who were supposed to be desperate themselves? What was this world coming to?

The bartender, Paul, asked if he wanted something to drink. David tapped his fingers and finally decided to go for it. One drink wouldn't do any damage and the girl wasn't going to show up, anyway, right, so who did he have to impress?

He heard the front door of the bar open. It was Monday night and there wasn't a whole lot of people there so it wasn't hard to notice when someone entered the bar. Four women appeared. None of them would be the one he was waiting for…they looked like they'd just come from work. He turned his attention back to the bar. How the hell was he going to find a date for this thing in two weeks? All he wanted was some mildly attractive woman who could carry an intelligent conversation and didn't want some long-term commitment. Nope, no commitment for David Gordon. Sure, he eventually wanted to settle down, but he'd just gotten out of a three year relationship from someone who couldn't commit herself out of a paper bag and wasn't in the mood to go through that again. _He_ wasn't the one who had commitment issues. He'd known too many flaky girls in this city to believe that men had all the commitment issues.

David finished his drink, got up, and was getting ready to leave when he heard, "Are you sure you are ready to leave? The next drink is on me."

It was a woman's voice, and when David looked over to see who belonged to the voice, he was speechless. Before him stood a beautiful blonde who was staring right at him. Surely, this wasn't the woman in the ad. This woman was too attractive to have to advertise for a date. "I…" David started, but changed what he had to say, "do I know you?"

The woman smiled, "No, not yet, at least. Are you really going to leave me and miss your chance?"

Whoa, David thought, this woman was…different. If she were a guy, he would think she was sleazy, but there was something about this woman…it was almost as if her forwardness added to her appeal. David sat back down, "I suppose I could stay for another drink. I'll pay for it, of course. What would you like?"

The blonde gazed at him for a minute and finally smiled, "I'm a big girl. I can take car of myself. I insist on paying. What would YOU like?" The woman sat down next to him and lay her purse on the counter.

David thought about his options for a minute. He could either fight this one or let her pay. He decided that this woman looked stubborn in her own ways and to fight it would not help anything. He grinned. Normally, he didn't really appreciate being argued with when he was trying to be a gentleman, but there was something about this woman that made him all the more curious.

The woman cleared her throat, "What would you like to drink?"

"Um," David said, being taken away from his thoughts, "I'll have a scotch and water on the rocks."

"Okay, that's one Bloody Mary and a scotch and water," she told the waiter and then turned her attention back to him, "So," she smiled again and leaned forward slightly, "You're name would be…" she waited for him ton finish the sentence.

David cleared his throat, "David," he said.

"David," she repeated, "That's a nice name. I'm Lizzie."

"Nice to meet you," he said. He felt really awkward about the situation. He wasn't sure why, but something wasn't right about all of this.

"Do you come here often?" she asked, once again interrupting his thoughts.

"Not really. I've been here a few times since I moved here last August."

"Where did you move here from?"

"Boston," he said.

"Really? I've always wanted to go there."

"Yeah," David said, remembering that he'd moved here for his ex-girlfriends job and was having a hard time adjusting to LA, "I love it there."

The bartender gave them their drinks and David took a sip. He didn't mean to seem anxious, but remembering why he was there made him slightly nervous. He seriously doubted that Lizzie was his date, which meant that his date saw him through the window and left, or wasn't desperate, after all. But this woman who called herself Lizzie appealed to him. The appeal was pretty much only physical, of course, but there was something about the way she presented herself that was also oddly attractive.

"So," Lizzie said, sipping from her drink, "Why is a nice guy like you sitting here all alone?"

He thought about lying because the truth made him sound pathetic, but then he remembered that there wasn't another excuse he could think of that didn't sound sleazy, "I had a date but she stood me up."

"Sounds like you won't be dating her for much longer."

David shrugged, "Well, it was a first date. We never met."

"Well," Lizzie said, shrugging, "If it were any other guy, I would suggest that she might have seen you and realized you weren't her type, but you…you don't have a type. Any girl who sees you should realize right away that you stand in a category by yourself and would give you a chance."

"Thanks," David said, thinking, "great, corny complements…this chick isn't interested in me, she's just trying to make me feel better and add on to this humiliation."

"Your welcome," Lizzie said, taking another sip of her drink, "So, David," she started again after putting the drink down, "Are you always this quiet around women?"

He blushed, realizing that he wasn't saying all that much and this was the first girl that volunteered to talk to him since college. He was far from being the best conversationalist at the moment. Normally, he wouldn't care with a type like this girl, but again, she had him interested. Maybe it was her looks. Maybe it was her confidence. Maybe he was desperate. He didn't know exactly what it was, but it occurred to him that this woman, if she was desperate enough to talk to him, might be willing to cooperate as his date to his old girlfriend's wedding.

Before he could answer, Lizzie said, "You know, normally I don't find the silent type attractive, but it works for you. Its almost like I can see that there is so much more to you than the silent front you have going, but it just takes some opening up to see that."

David could hardly believe what he was hearing. Had this girl just called him shy? Did she just suggest that she found him attractive? Who the hell did she think she was and where the hell had she been all his life?

David pondered this as Lizzie excused herself and headed toward the bathroom. He watched as one of the friends she walked in with came up to her and they started talking as they were opening the bathroom door. He watched them disappear and wondered if this girl would come back.


End file.
